An Iranian official says that the country witnesses an upward trend in its medical tourism, adding that 1.2 million tourists received different treatment services in Iranian hospitals last year.

Muslim Shojaei, Director General of the Foreign Tourism Marketing and Development Office at the Iranian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism said on Sunday that “Health, medical or therapeutic tourism is one of the key competitive advantages that the country’s tourism has over others. Along with pilgrimage and historical-cultural tourism, this area is one of our three main products in which we can compete with many countries in the world.”

“Last year, we received 7.4 million tourists, of which 1.2 million were health tourists,” the official said, adding that the health tourists received different treatment in Iran.

He noted that services such as hair transplants, cosmetic surgeries, transplants, and infertility treatment topped the other treatment that the foreign tourists received in Iranian medical centers.

“According to statistics from sources such as the Medical Tourism Association (MTA), the global medical tourism market is worth around $47 billion, with each health tourist spending an average of $2,500 to $3,000. The global market size is estimated to be between 18 and 20 million patients,” Shojaei said, adding that, “Iran’s share is not bad despite the current conditions, although the situation was better before Covid-19 pandemic and in 2019.”

Meanwhile, he said that the 12-Day War waged unprovoked by the Israeli regime and the United States against Iran also hurt the health tourism and the visits of the patients to Iran.

MNA/